It was October 19, right after the end of the Justin Timberlake Shriner’s Hospital for Children’s Open. It was in Las Vegas as always at TPC Summerlin and Justin had arrived there on the 11th. So now it was about a week since Haley had accused him of being the center of attention and stormed out.
Now she sat in her office, finally interviewing the clients for fashion week. Then she had to write the article. If she was lucky, she’d be out by midnight. Her phone beeped once again, indicating Justin had sent her another text. It read: ‘Please call me? I miss u – J ‘
Haley deleted it, along with the 20 others he’d sent her this week. She wasn’t giving in and was also not answering his calls. He knew she was just upset but without her telling him what was wrong, he couldn’t help. She knew he was wondering why she’d gotten drunk but she couldn’t tell him; he’d only worry more.
---
Justin sighed frustrated and turned off his phone. He looked up at one of his longtime friends, Chris, who was in the Shriner’s Tournament.
“Don’t worry, man. Just keep trying and she’ll come around. It can't be that bad.”
“I hope so.” He’d give her time but he just wanted to know what was wrong so he could help her through it. Why was she avoiding him?
He then walked back over to the group of children and parents at the sidelines of the golf course. They were children in the Shriner’s Hospitals and he was taking pictures with them. He plastered a smile on his face, which turned genuine when he saw the kids. Even in all the personal problems he had, these children touched his heart. They were what mattered, they were the ones money was raised for so they can get better. Facing the odds they had to everyday, they never ceased to amaze him.
---
Haley sighed once again, it was 10:30pm now and she was still writing the interview. Everytime she thought she was done, Link would have her redo it so Greg decided to help. “Ok, so if we put the part of Northern Stars here. And then add Dolche here.”
“Well, you can work it to death, I’m going to head out,” Greg answered. “Go home, get something to eat and rest.”
“No, I’m going to finish this.” She went to pull herself to her feet when her legs gave out and collapsed. She was out cold.
Greg caught her on the way down, her head lolling to the side. He tried to wake her but nothing worked.
---
Justin opened the door to his hotel room and plopped on the couch. He heard his phone ring and stopped dead. He stared at the number. Why was he nervous, isn’t her call what he wanted? He slowly put it to his ear and stuttered a “hello?”
“Justin? This is Greg?” the man on the other line answered. “Um, I’m calling about Haley.”
“W-what happened?” he asked, fear suddenly gripping him. Something was wrong, he could feel it.
“Well, we were at work late and when I went to leave she wanted to continue. She tried to stand up and just collapsed. The doctor’s won’t tell me because I’m not family.”
“I’ll be on the next flight out.” Justin hung up, not waiting for an answer. He hastily ran around the room, grabbing his stuff. He was thankful golf had ended and he could leave early without a problem. He didn’t care what his management or press said, his girlfriend needed him. This incident only made him more worried of what she was hiding.
---
THE PLANE RIDE from Las Vegas to LA was only an hour long but Justin felt it was forever. He was uncomfortable due to nerves of worry and he could not relax. He took out his red blackberry, pressing a few buttons and bringing up the pictures he’d taken.
There were a few with some kids from his recent golf game and then one in particular. It was of him and Haley about three months ago.
Justin lay on the red half-moon loveseat. Haley was wrapped in his arms, snuggly tucked between him and the back of the loveseat. Her head lay in the crook of his neck and Justin’s head on a small pillow. They both had a rare day off and spent it goofing round. After going to a few places they’d come back and relaxed watching tv. They’d been so drained from the work-week and conked out, oblivious to everything else.
That is how Rachael found them, snuggled together, as she came to return Brennen and Buckly. She’d watched them while Justin was out of town. Seeing the couple curled up, she’d picked up her cousin’s phone from the table and took the picture. It was rare to see them so relaxed and they looked so cute she just had to.
Snapping back to the present, Justin felt someone shaking his shoulder. He turned to see Trace and realized he must have drifted off while thinking. “C’mon, man. Ride’s here to take us to the hospital.”
The singer nodded, rubbing his eyes before replacing his glasses, and got up. He grabbed his bags before quietly exiting the plane and going through the airport. A few people recognized him and he was thankful that there was little to no fans/paparazzi. Even though he was a day earlier than he was supposed to be and earlier than his fans probably knew he’d be. He was glad because though he loved his fans, he couldn’t quite focus on them.
It was like his vision had tunneled and all he could think of was Haley laying in a hospital bed, for Lord knows what reason. He knew it had to do with what she wouldn’t tell him though.
---
CEDAR-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER It was past midnight by the time the cavalry entered a private entrance and to the desk in the ER. The group included Trace, Rachael, guards, and the rest of their friends who always traveled with Justin. They wanted to make sure Haley was ok too, they thought she was cool.
“May I help you, sir?” a small blonde nurse asked.
“Yes, a co-worker of my girlfriend’s told me she was brought in here after collapsing a few hours ago? I was hoping to talk to the doctor.”
“Name?”
“Haley Jordan,” he answered. “I was also hoping to talk to Dr Morales, she’s my doctor.”
A few minutes later Dr Anne Morales walked out of the elevator. She spotted Justin in the waiting room, who happened to be ducking people’s gazes so not to be noticed. “Hey, Mr Timberlake,” she announced quietly. “You're here for Miss Jordan right?” At Justin’s frantic nod and a swipe over his face, she motioned him into her office just down the hall. She knew he was a celebrity and wanted to give him privacy as always.
“Is Haley ok? What happened?” he asked immediately once inside.
“Calm down, Justin. Haley is fine, just worn out.” Anne had been the young man’s doctor for years during his stays in LA and she was lucky he didn’t have too many serious injuries other than a broken hand or something. He was a good kid; tough and when he was hurt, but worried when it was someone he cared for.
“When Haley was brought in, I was doing my rounds. I recognized her and took over her case. The man with her, Greg I think his name was, said they were at work and she passed out. We ran some tests and I found it was stress and exhaustion. That combined with her low immunity due to her disability caused her to just shutdown,” she explained.
Justin nodded in understanding. He knew that sleep and nutrition were very important to Haley’s daily life and any lack of them could cause problems. “Will she be ok?”
“Yes. We will keep her overnight to make sure she gets fluids and the proper amount of rest. It will boost her immunity and give her body the chance to fix itself like you or ours would normally. Now, when she wakes up we want her to talk about what's causing the stress. She can even talk to you should she feel. But if we can figure out a way to reduce the stress, then this won’t happen again.”
“Yeah, if she’ll speak to me even,” he mumbled defeated. He saw the doctor’s confusion and looked up at her. “We got in a little fight before I left on a trip. That’s when I noticed something was off. She wasn't acting like herself and when I asked about it, she got mad and stormed out.”
“Well, hopefully it’ll work out. I’d like to monitor her to make sure she rests but I would like it if we don’t have to bring in someone for her to talk to because the situation probably isn’t that serious. It seems like this is just daily stuff that piled up and her brain was overloaded.”
Justin sighed heavily, leaning his elbows on his knees and head in his hands, and digested the news. After a few minutes of tired, confused thoughts and deep breaths, he sat up. “C-can I see her?”
Dr Morales smiled a small smile. “Yeah, come on hun.”
Chapter End Notes:
AN: last chapter may be a few days. my friend is gone again & i'm waiting for word from him on the last chapter.
Story Tags: williamrast
